103A Frederick Street Port of Spain
Carrera Island Prison Trinidad & Tobago
FORMERLY YOUTH TRAINING CENTRE Golden Grove Road Arouca
Golden Grove Road Arouca
Waterloo Extension Road Golden Grove Road Arouca
103A Frederick Street Port of Spain
Carrera Island Prison Trinidad & Tobago
FORMERLY YOUTH TRAINING CENTRE Golden Grove Road Arouca
Golden Grove Road Arouca
Waterloo Extension Road Golden Grove Road Arouca
PRISON FACILITIES
CARRERA CONVICT PRISON
(CCP)
The second of the two major facilities during the 19 th century, the Carrera Convict Prison
is situated on a rocky islet situated off the northwest peninsula of Trinidad. It was first
used as a temporary prison depot in 1854 to lodge convicts who were labouring on
cutting a channel for passage of small boats. It was not until 1876 that construction of a
huge stone-walled prison complex began and was completed in 1880, initially housing
approximately forty inmates.
Carrera Convict Prison is utilized to house prisoners serving long sentences. Today,
there are just over 300 prisoners who reside on the offshore facility. Although the
physical structure is over 100 years old and is grossly outdated, the island prison offers
many life skill opportunities for the prisoners housed there.
MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON
(MSP)
The Maximum Security Prison is the largest and most modern facility in the Caribbean
as it is technologically driven and advanced. It is the only one of its kind and one of the
two prisons built in the post-colonial era in Trinidad and Tobago. It sits on 116 acres of
land of which approximately 91 acres are being developed for farming and agriculture.
Construction on MSP, as it is commonly called, started in 1992 and the facility had its
first intake of prisoners in 1998. With a housing capacity of 2400, this facility is shared
between both convicted and remanded prisoners.
In 2014, an upgrade of the operating system was conducted where touch-screen
monitors were installed. This system allows for automated monitoring, supervision and
control of inmates and cells.
WOMENS PRISON (WP)
Women’s Prison (WP)
In 1854, the first allocation was made to accommodate female prisoners. This prison
was located at the St James Barracks. In 1886, a new division comprising of twenty-
eight cells formed the second Women’s Prison located at the then Royal Jail, which is today named Port of Spain Prison.
In 1989, more than a century later, the female prison was relocated to the Golden Grove
compound where it was officially opened by then Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable A.N.R. Robinson (deceased), on August 29. It was renamed Women’s Prison and has a housing capacity of 300.
GOLDEN GROVE PRISON
Golden Grove Prison (GGP)
During the Second World War, the compound known as Golden Grove was a Naval Base occupied by Her Majesty’s Royal Navy. In 1947, the compound was formally converted to a penal institution for men, with a housing capacity of 300. It houses convicted prisoners in a dormitory like setting and is the only medium security prison.
PORT OF SPAIN PRISON
One of the first prisons in Trinidad was located on George Street, Port of Spain. On
March 24, 1808, a disastrous fire devoured the prison and work soon started on a new
facility, known today as Port of Spain Prison (Royal Gaol) which was completed in 1812.
During the 19 th century, this was one of two major prison facilities and the only one that was able to effectively segregate prisoners as it contained individual cells.
Built to house 250 prisoners, the Port of Spain Prison is home to both remanded and convicted prisoners, with accommodation for condemned persons. It is the only prison
facility which allows for executions by hanging, the last being on June 07, 1999.
YOUTH TRANSFORMATION &REHABILITATION CENTRE
*Youth Transformation & Rehabilitation Centre (YTRC)
​
Originally called the Young Offenders’ Detention Institute, this facility was established at St. James in 1926.
It was relocated from its original site to a seventeen-acre site opposite the Golden Grove Prison, declared an Industrial Institution and renamed the Youth Training Centre in 1949.
In 2019, the facility was again renamed the Youth Transformation & Rehabilitation
Centre. It houses male offenders under the age of 18 or minors as they are commonly
called.
EASTERN CORRECTIONAL REHABILITATION CENTRE
Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre (ECRC)
The second of the two prisons built in the post-colonial era in Trinidad and Tobago, the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre was opened in 2011 to house persons who were detained under the 2011 State of Emergency.
Following the termination of the SoE, the facility which can comfortably house over 400 persons, continued to be utilised, housing remanded, convicted and prohibited immigrants.
In 2019, a section of the facility was commissioned as an expansion of the Immigration Detention Centre my Minister of National Security, the Honourable Mr. Stuart Young.
Following the outbreak of the COVID19 (Coronavirus) pandemic in 2020.
REMAND PRISON FACILITY
The Remand Facility is located on the Golden Grove Compound and was originally a movie theatre used as entertainment for naval officers stationed there. In 1974 it was subsequently converted to the structure it is today and was configured to house only 600 inmates. It is the holding facility for persons awaiting trial and awaiting appeal.
tobago PRISON
The Tobago Prison is located on Young Street, Bacolet, Scarborough and was built with a capacity for thirty (30) offenders and houses both Remanded and Convicted prisoners.
The Prison has five (5) cells, two of which house Convicted Prisoners and the other three (3) accommodate Remanded offenders. The prison is an adult male facility and all juvenile and female offenders are transported to a Trinidad facility.
PRISONS TRAINING COLLEGE
The Prisons Training College of the Trinidad & Tobago Prison Service is charged with the responsibility of Induction, Developmental and Refresher Training. It is geared towards the development of the human resource at its disposal through training and re- training.
The Prisons Training College is located at Bandoo Avenue Extension, Tumpuna Road,
Arima.
​
This location has been the home of the Training College for the past fifteen (15)
years as it was relocated from the Youth Training Centre in 2005.
CLAXTON BAY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
The Claxton Bay Correctional facility was acquired via Legal Notice no. 331, ORDER
made by the Minister under section 5(1) of the Prisons Act, (Prisons Order, 2020), as a
district prison for the treatment of prisoners who tested positive for the COVID-19.
It caters for prisoners whose medical conditions are classified as being mild,
asymptomatic and stable.
The facility, situated on Trincity Road, Forres Park in the ward of Point-a Pierre, was opened with a short unveiling ceremony on Wednesday October 07, 2020, by Commissioner of Prisons (Ag.), Mr. Dennis Pulchan, and had its first intake of thirteen (13) patients from Tobago Convict Prison on Friday October 09, 2020.
It can accommodate a maximum of twenty-three (23) patients and is specially designed and outfitted for patients’ enhanced medical treatment, whilst maintaining public safety and security.